Do's/Don'ts of Engine Cleaning (Tell us your experiences...)

[BK]

Little odd input. I bought an 86 4runner that had lived its entire life in Colorado. It had this red dirt dust stuff everywhere. The whole engine and engine bay was the same color. I attempted numerous cleaners like simple green, purple clean, brake clean, etc. No luck at all. I then decided to try the aerosol Goof-off made for graffiti, and it worked amazingly! Took it off the paint, hoses, plastics, engine, everything! Just wiped off.

[LostMy65]

I pressure washed my engine. Blew it off with a leaf blower. Then started it and revved it up to find my oil leaks. Now I'm going to fix those leaks. But I need to clean those couple areas where I found the leaks so when I start it up again and rev it, I can make sure they're fixed.
Reading this thread, I think Simply Green might be the ticket.